Sign in
- Please contact your account administrator for more information on your access.
Follow us
- Twitter
- LinkedIn
- Newsletters
- Facebook
- YouTube
Register
CRN Essential
Events
- Upcoming events
  CRN Sales & Marketing Awards 2021
  
  The CRN Sales & Marketing Awards recognise and reward the achievements of those individuals and teams that are responsible for making the UK IT channel truly great.
  
  Date: 08 Jul 2021
  View all events
Whitepapers
- LATEST WHITEPAPERS
  
  What are the opportunities for the channel with the growth of AI?
  Encryption, privacy, & data protection: a balancing act
  
  This white paper examines the risk posed by encrypted threats; considers the business, privacy, and security implications of managing that risk; and presents constructive measures for balancing security needs with employee privacy rights. In the end, the best way for IT leadership to ensure the rights of the individual employee is to protect the organization from threats and attacks.
  Download
  
  How do MSPs really feel the channel will shape up by 2020?
  On borrowed time?
  
  Cybercrime has become a huge part of our economy and it is a topic that is getting more and more attention in the news media. The cybercriminal stories making headlines involve big companies such as British Airways and Marriott etc. However, smaller companies are just as susceptible to cyber- attacks. Often these attacks are much more damaging to smaller businesses, sometimes forcing them to shut down completely. One report from Verizon claims that 43% of email attacks target SMBs.
  Download
  
  Find whitepapers
  
  Search by title or subject area
  
  View all whitepapers
A-list
Top VARs
Printer Supplies

Ben Boswell

CRN staff
16 November 2020

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Send to

What has been your personal highlight of 2020?

Working with the team to launch D|OPS Digital. We have had to be courageous and work incredibly hard as a team. Together we have worked through the most challenging and turbulent market conditions to set the foundation for an incredible 2021. I have also loved working with my Princes Trust mentees and Jake Armstrong at Addey and Stanhope School as we try our best to navigate the many personal challenges and consequences from the pandemic.

Which three celebrities would you invite to a Zoom party?

As a crazy Liverpool fan it would have to be Jürgen Klopp, Jordan Henderson and Mo Salah. What a year it has been, so to hear their stories and experience would be a treat indeed.

What has been your guiltiest lockdown pleasure?

I released a new Soundcloud DJ Mix every week through the height of lockdown (BB-in-LDT). There was escapism in the music.

Which tech figurehead has inspired you most this year, and why?

I have been particularly impressed by Mitchell Hashimoto and Armon Dadgar, co-founders of HashiCorp. Their technology vision and product execution underpins the Cloud Native automation and security platforms being deployed by Fortune 100 companies right across the globe.

What piece of technology, or app, have you not been able to do without during the pandemic?

My Apple Earpods, one of the best end-user experiences out there.

If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do?

I would like to be an explorer in the pre-COVID world! I miss travel, new places, people and the life moments that they bring.

Do you miss face-to-face events?

I certainly do. Having been lucky enough to work in various technology sales and leadership roles, I love meeting customers, colleagues and partners in person. With the exception of Las Vegas, I miss the global travel that goes with it.

How will COVID leave its mark on the way the channel operates long term?

The channel has had to be able to pivot to operating 100 per cent remotely - sales calls, workshops, contract negotiation and signature. Remote delivery has helped our collective customer base to drive digital transformation fast or fail. It will change our industry forever, in only a good way.